No major study of women medical students has been done since Lopate's (1968) work in the mid 1960s. The changing role of women (and, to some extent, men), the increased enrollment of women in medical school, and changing economic conditions probably have changed many characteristics of female medical students as reported in Lopate's work. This exploratory study will generate specific hypotheses about the nature of medical school experience and the process of becoming a physician, as these differentially characterize female and male students. Hypotheses will be generated based on data analysis as well as upon impressions gleaned from interviewing. The study will explore the following four areas for female, as compared to the male, medical students: (1) decision to enter medicine as a career, (2) factors relating to dropping out of medical school, (3) medical specialty preferences, and (4) practice pattern preferences. Of particular interest is the relationship of sex-role orientation to these four areas. Both medical schools in Georgia are being studied; Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. All female students in these two schools and a comparable number of randomly selected male students are being individually interviewed or being asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Two different data collection techniques are being used since this is an exploratory study. Since most data are nominal or ordinal, the most frequently used statistical techniques will be nonparametric.